/r/USCIS FAQs

GOSH GOD FORBID SOMEONE FINDS LOVE IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY AND WANTS TO STAY IN THE USA WITH THEIR PERSON 😭

I genuinely don’t understand why people get so pressed about this. Like, sorry someone fell in love with an American and wants to build a life with them? Why is that such a problem for some people? It’s actually so annoying seeing how judgmental people can be about it.
I hope some of you find love with someone from another country one day and end up wanting to move to their country to be with them, or have them move to yours, so you can understand how it feels. Because I swear, some of you act like the USA is such an amazing place that nobody would ever have a reason to leave, yet get mad when someone from somewhere else actually wants to live here.
Like, let people fall in love and live their lives. Not everything is some big immigration conspiracy. Some people genuinely just meet someone, fall in love, and want to be together. Why is that so hard to understand?

Daca recipient 🤍🦋

Nationality: Mexico 🇲🇽

Lawyer used only for application not for Interview

Married: Nov 2024

Submit date: Aug 31, 2026

Biometrics appointment sent: Sep 5, 2026

Biometrics taken: Sep 25, 2026

Interview appointment sent: Sep 30, 2026

Interview: Oct 14, 2026

@ Los Angeles FO

I-130 & 485 approved Oct 16, 2026

Our lawyer said this was his fastest case approval hes ever had so we are very blessed and grateful 🙏

We were so worried about the Interview but were a bit relieved when we saw that everyone was so kind there. Our officer was the best and eased our nerves so much. We brought extra photos + printed our joint health/ 401k / triple A membership benefits as we dont have joint bank accounts + notarized letter of rent payments. She didnt really asked questions about our marriage because she said our story already appear genuine by all the documents we submitted with our application. She asked the Yes & No questions and we joked around about my name as its unique. She mentioned that she would be reviewing the rest of the additional evidence and would get an update by the end of this week. Interview around 20-30mins.

DACA RECIPIENT…NO criminal record,NO LAWYER, straightforward case,i married a US citizen❤️
Hugeee thanks to my tresleches reddit friend. You inspired me to pursue my forms and be positive🙏🏼

I am from Mexico
Married to a US citizen
We been dating since November 2021
DACA GIRL SINCE 2015
Advance parole Dec 2025
i only file forms i130,i130A,i864,i485 with my medical exam.

• married 5/14/26
• Certificate of marriage 7/20/26
• Medical exam 8/20/26
• File AOS 9/1/26
• Receipt # 9/3/26
• Bio receipt 9/11/26
• Bio reschedule from 10/2/26 to 9/15/26
• Interview was scheduled Sep/29/2026
• Interview happen 10/14/2026 at 9am
• Interview office Los Angeles
• i130 approved 10/15/2026
• I485 approved 10/16/2026

Hiii my beautiful Reddit family… i come to share my journey,story or experience with you….whatever you wanna call it.

I been dating my love for five years in November 2026 is our 5 year anniversary.
we dated forever. Never thought we would be getting married,until April 2026, drunk talking we said “lets run away and get marry”…” i said you are not down”….next thing you know we submitted for a marriage certificate, set up a date….and run away and eloped…infront of beautiful strangers clapping for us. We didn’t tell no body.
Im the type of person “que asta que no te pase,no cuentes”….not everyone is happy for you….From the moment we got married until the interview happened i was gathering as much evidence as i could…
What i submitted with my AOS FORMS
For evidence
bank statements with both names account open on 4/2/2026
life insurance, my husband is the beneficiary
his tax transcripts 2023,2024,2025 file to our sharing address
Our car lease both names
Timeshare both names
Copies of bills for him and I to our sharing address
Copies of plane tickets of two trips we took together
Wyze and ring cam pictures of us leaving and coming home, or just us hanging out at home with our cats
Picture of us, hanging out with family and friends

Nooo, we donnot have
•joint lease
•no car insurance together
•no bills under both names

The interview was super chillll, the officer came up to us, and said hi “luis” and “ michelle” how are you this morning? We looked at him 🧐🧐 do we know you? He said oh im interviewing you today….we were like “oohhh hi” we got all excited like puppies and smiles, we followed him, we asked ( how did you knew who we were? ) officer replied ( i study your case before coming to get you, and since you provide a lot of pictures i was able to recognize you guys)…
We were like ( we thought we owed you money or something,because you came directly to us, while all the other officers are yelling names )
We all laughed and i think that’s when i knew the interview was about to go more easy, i was super prepared, thick@$$ folder with more evidence and anything he need it “two copies” of everything.

This officer started with the i130 interview first, his questions were more normal
“He asked my husband what makes you love her” or why her? “ my husband replied:” because even when she’s mad at me she still feeds me and makes sure to take care of me and always have food for me after a long shift”…and well she is my best friend.
Then we chatted a lot more, about food, and long hrs shift…all smiles and laugh…
He said “ your i130 is been sent to my supervisor so he can approve it NOW”

Then he went to me with questions”i485”…he said is the normal question you already answered on the i485, i answered yes or no, then he printed out a paper i signed. Then after He asked us ( if we travel anywhere this summer? ) we said no because summer is a busy season for us.) ( he asked me what made me love my husband?, i replied i have a big ego when it comes to asking for help…but luis always knows when i need help and helps me with out me asking) ( thats my love language 🥰) he is just a good Person not just to me but everyone around him)….he gave me a white paper to take with us. He said everything looks great from his part, we don’t need extra evidence or more paper work. You have uploaded a lot in the portal already. ( the officer did say he never dies anyone unless they look off)…but anywayssss, before showing up to my interview i made sure to up load as much as i could to the portal.

Also: on our way to our INTERVIEW i was praying and talking to god, i even prayed the salmon 121 and salmon 37…i asked for a sign…i kid you not ( my husband yelled LOOK JESUS LOVES YOU, and i said what?…and i looked up and there it was a big sign that said ( JESUS LOVES YOU )… i was super happy and more relaxed. The sign is literally getting off on mapple st. Yes i do believe in jesus a lot. And i put god first in all my projects, is all i have left from my Grandparents.

Praying for everyones forms to be approved asap🙏🏼

Hi everyone,
My wife (U.S. citizen) and I had our marriage-based green card interview in NYC on October 16, 2026, and I’m feeling a little anxious about how it went.
The interview lasted almost 2 hours. We were interviewed together, and the officer asked my wife most of the questions about our relationship, marriage, and daily life.
My wife got two questions wrong: the date of one of our trips together and the number of floors in our apartment building. The officer simply wrote down our answers and moved on without commenting.
Toward the end, he asked about my pending asylum application (I-589), my entry through the U.S.–Mexico border in 2022, and my immigration history. He explained that my detention at the border counted as an immigration arrest, corrected my I-485 answer, and asked me to sign the correction.
He also dictated a statement for my wife to write confirming that our marriage is genuine and based on love, not immigration benefits. I signed it.
What worries me most is that the officer spent quite a bit of time explaining what would happen if our case were denied, including mentioning a 30-day period to challenge the decision. He then briefly explained that if approved, the green card could arrive within 4–6 weeks.
At the end, he scanned our documents, returned the originals, and let us leave without giving us any written decision.
Has anyone experienced something similar?
Is it normal for an officer to explain the denial process in detail?
Has anyone been asked to write a statement confirming their marriage is genuine?
Could two incorrect answers seriously affect the outcome?
How long did you wait for a decision after your NYC interview?
Has anyone with a pending I-589 or previous immigration court proceedings gone through this?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you!

Family based AOS

May 29th 2026 - Submitted concurrently I-765, I-130, I-131 and I-485
June 2nd 2026 - Biometrics scheduled
June 6th 2026 - RFE sent for the I-864
June 26th 2026 - Biometrics completed
July 12th 2026 - RFE response sent to USCIS
July 15th - Message saying “we have received and reviewed your RFE response… back to processing, etc.

Radio silence since, nothing even for the I-765.
I know it might take even longer, just looking for anyone else in the same boat?

If anyone has got an idea for what is happening, I would greatly appreciate your sharing it, thanks.

Additional info: another Redditor has a similar timeline to me (responded to RFE 10/14) and their case does show up in online filing for I-907.

Additional info 2: checked API and action required says true, isRespondedTo says false, and response count says 1… case closed is false

Hi everyone! We filed our marriage-based AOS, and today an “Appointment Scheduled.pdf” appeared in my USCIS account under my I-485, dated October 16. The appointment schedule is stated, but
we haven’t received the physical letter yet.

Is the online notice already official, or should we wait for the mail?

Would appreciate any advice. Thank you!

My O-1 petition was approved on October 9, and I scheduled my visa interview for October 20. However, my attorney still hasn’t received the I-797, so I don’t even have a copy to bring to the interview.

Would I likely receive a 221(g) if I attend the interview without the I-797, or should it be fine as long as the consular officer can verify the petition approval electronically through PIMS?

Alternatively, should I skip the interview and try to secure a new appointment? The cancellation deadline has already passed, so I can’t cancel my current appointment.

I’d really appreciate any advice

Hi all! I have F2A (spouse of GC holder), filed Oct 2025, I-130 already approved at time of submission. Interview Sept 17 at Irving TX. super smooth, mostly the standard yes/no questions, no RFE so far. Officer said "2–3 weeks” for background checks then a decision.

It's been a month. Status went to "Case Is Being Processed" right after the interview and hasn't budged. I was told by my lawyer that 120 days is the typical max duration so I'm trying not to spiral lol.
Two questions for anyone who's been here:
After a clean interview, how long until you saw "New Card Is Being Produced"? Did it jump straight there or show other statuses first?

Irving field office experiences especially welcome 🙏

My interview was canceled back in Jan 08 2026, and now ten months later i get this notification. Is this normal? F1 student switching over to permanent resident F.O is out New Orleans.

If DOS does not issue visas in FY27 will there will another spillover?

Hi everyone! My husband’s 2025 income was too low, so we found a joint sponsor for our marriage-based AOS.
Our joint sponsor earned $39,000 in 2025, but the income requirement for a household of 4 is $41,250.
He previously sponsored two people who received green cards. One is his relative, and we know they still have a green card. He can’t reach the second person, because he randomly helped someone and that someone told him they might have left the US permanently. We don’t know if that’s true, and neither person has become a US citizen as far as we know. We can’t reach him.
If we list a household size of 3 instead of 4, could this be found out? What could happen if it were determined the household size was incorrect? (Cause we don’t know how to check).
Has anyone experienced something similar? Thanks!

Entered the US on F1 visa(currently on H1-B) and met my husband(U.S Citizen) in Jan 2023
Started dating in Sept 2023
Got married in Sep 2025
Application for I-130, I-485, I-765 and I-131 submitted on May 4, 2026
Biometrics scheduled - May 9
Biometrics completed - May 29
Received an RFE on June 11
Submitted the evidence on Aug 25 (my attorney took forever. If you’re in Louisville, KY, please do yourself a favor and do not hire anyone from Attum law firm)
Interview was scheduled - September 8
Completed interview on Oct 14. Lasted 50-65 min because the system was really slow.
Both I-130 and I-485 were approved on the spot.

Our interview is in two weeks and our lawyer warned us of detention risk because my husband is under removal proceedings and has a pending asylum case at the court. No removal order, no criminal record. If you can share if you had similar experience or heard of anything about St. Louis office, we would appreciate it

My 81-year-old mom recently had her biometrics appointment for adjustment of status. We received a notice afterward saying she needs to repeat her biometrics, and they already scheduled another appointment. Has anyone experienced this, especially with elderly parents? What happened after the second appointment? Did it cause any delays?

Had my marriage-based AOS interview almost a month ago and both my I-130 and I-485 are still pending. I was told they needed to complete additional background checks before making a decision.

Yesterday, my EAD got approved, which I wasn't really expecting at this point.

I spoke to someone at my attorney's office and she said it could be a good sign that my green card decision is coming soon, but I don't want to get my hopes up.

Just wondering if anyone else got their EAD approved after their interview while both cases were still pending. How long did it take to get a decision?

My profile:-
- Doing PhD in AI safety in one of the ivy league schools (likely a massive disadvantage now). Finished masters before starting my PhD.
- 700 citations with papers in neurips, icml, iclr, nature (12 papers in total)

- completed over 100 reviews in top journals and conferences

- 4 letters of recommendations (one of from stanford)

it is about to be two years since I filed the initial k1 visa application (March 2025).

I submitted an RFE becuase they requested further bonafide proof that we were going to get married. I sent in affidavits from family and friends and a bunch of other stuff back in February.

I have yet to hear anything back. I have called about 5 times since then. I requested a level two agent 3 weeks ago. The agent on the phone gave me some case #. The number the level 2 agent would call me from(saved in contacts). And said it would a maximum of 4 weeks for someone to call back.

Before this I had already submitted a ticket online and called in inquiring about it.

I am not sure what to do anymore. Should I contact a lawyer? Call again? Keep waiting?

Any insight or help would be wonderful. The wait is killing us and we are frustrated at the process. For reference my fiancé is from Mexico.

I didn’t file for VAWA yet but i feel I have enough documents and evidence for my VAWA case but I’m not sure if that enough or what actually USCIS looking into as enough or strong evidence to approve such cases …
In addition is it ok to file two different cases based separately ?
Any informations for the VAWA ? The evidence what i need …?!
Thank you 🙏

Hi everyone!
I’m looking for people who are in a similar situation and can share their experiences with USCIS military-related expedite requests.
I’m married to a U.S. citizen who is active-duty Navy and currently deployed. My marriage-based I-130 and I-485 applications were received on April 6, 2026, and my I-485 case was transferred to the San Diego Field Office in September 2026.
I submitted an expedite request based on my husband’s military deployment and provided his official deployment orders.
I recently contacted USCIS again. A representative arranged for an immigration officer to contact me within 72 hours and gave me a Caller ID and a Service Item Number. However, I later received an email saying my inquiry could be addressed through Case Status Online, so I’m not sure what will happen next.
Has anyone experienced something similar?

Applied for I-751 on Oct 2, 2026.

Just today (Oct 17, 2026) after 15 days, I got an update on the case saying a biometrics appointment notice was sent.

Is that pretty usual?

Not complaining at all, just curious.

FYI my timeline attached as image.